Does anyone know a good device that could be used for detecting noises with a high degree of sensitivity?

Question

I went to school for computer science and have been reading about the military's problem with locating Iraqi and Afghani snipers. I need a sound detecting sensor that can detect difference in decibal levels in fractioned amounts.

Answer 1

A good microphone will do that, however....

Your problems with solving this problem are:

- SIgnal to noise ratio; how do you discern a sniper shot from a car backfiring?

- Prep and setup; you have to know that a sniper attack is planned and approximately where it is going to happen, then you set up at least two mics and try to triangulate the sound to oinpoint the source. If you know where the sniper is going to show up, you don't need anything to find him, do you?

- You could make every GI wear two sound sensors, one on each side of his body. If a shot is heard, the location and orientation of the GI's, coupled with the sound recording, could be used to pinpoint the source. THis equipment would be in addition to the other 40 pounds of gear the poor guys have to wear right now to do a variety of other mission tasks.

Good luck with it. Biggest issue to me is signal to noise ratio - what else changes when a sniper shoots, other than sound waves? (electromagnetic field change, or electromagnetic wake, or electrostatic, or .... ).

Answer 2

I can't recall which city, but I have heard on the news once about a place where they set up microphones to triangulate the location from which gunshots were fired.

I don't think they so much used the loudness, rather the time the sound was recorded... since speed of sound is know, if you have three mics, and record time of sound, you can triangulate position just like they do with earthquakes and seismographs.

Answer 3

I am thinking that this device would be called a "microphone".